Social Media: A New Generation of Giving to Nonprofits

Charitable giving has been steadily increasing every year since 2009. $390 billion was given to charitable causes in 2016 alone. Harnessing the power of social media could mean more success for your organization’s fundraising efforts. 55% of people who engage with social media end up taking some sort of action - 59% of them making monetary donations.

Together We Rise is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping those involved in the foster care system. This organization fully utilizes the tools of online media to build and grow the community surrounding their cause. Here are some tips to take from Together We Rise to boost social media giving.

1. Be Transparent

When giving money to an organization, people want to see the tangible results and where exactly the money is going. With donating to any organization, direct results of monetary donations help foster relationships between the non-profit and the donor. Together We Rise provides the following infographic that breaks down where the money is spent:

Together We Rise also provides evidence of results from donations by visually showing items donors can purchase for children in foster care:

Not only does the organization show what they use the money for but where they use it. They provide a map on their website that shows where in the United States the money goes to. Together We Rise helps those in the Foster system all over America by giving back to the regions in which donations come from.

2. Tell Your Story

People give when they experience an emotional connection with an organization. Being a convincing storyteller in these digital spaces will help to establish this charitable relationship. Through the content created on various social platforms, as an organization, donors and potential donors can tell who you are as a non-profit and showcase those who experience the direct impact of work from the organization.

Together We Rise posts photos of children they help see through the adoption process. They showcase mainly the children on their social media platforms.

The idea of family is a prevalent theme for this organization and their involvement in the foster care system. The photos of these children allow for donors and potential donors to be inspired to give for many reasons - maybe the children remind them of their past in foster care, maybe they are already foster parents, maybe they are looking to adopt or maybe these children remind parents of their own. Whatever the reason, these photos provide a level of digital storytelling that invites their audience of 36.6k Instagram followers, 66.4k Twitter followers, and 604k Facebook followers to connect and engage in a deeper relationship with the organization.

3. Call-to-Action

People also tend to donate when they see how much of a difference donations have made to the organization. Showing and telling your audience what past donations have contributed to can inspire people to donate again, or to donate for the first time. Having a call-to-action in your message is another important aspect when trying to get people to reciprocate their donation, or add to the current donations. In the tweet Together We Rise composed, they used a call-to-action by telling their audience to “Help us do more” and provided a link to their donation site. Along with a call-to-action, you want to make it easy for your audience to act on your call. Providing a link, phone number, or information regarding the next step is recommended.

Having a call to action is important when marketing your organization, whether you’re trying to get someone to buy your product, donate, or subscribe. On the Together We Rise Facebook page, they have their “Donate” button visible and easily accessible for the viewer. It’s also a good strategy to have your call-to-action across your different modes of social media and communication with the audience. This way, no matter where the prospect donor, or consumer is looking at one of your many profiles, they have the opportunity to seize their call to action and donate.